That big thump you heard the other night was the sound of the other shoe falling. Two of them, in fact.

First, there is the prospect of $37,000 a day in fines, for the last four years and continuing, concerning ammonia generated by McCook's wastewater treatment plant.

Then, there is the letter saying, no, McCook's latest plan to drill new water wells in the river valley has not been approved by the state of Nebraska.

We've been dealing with McCook's drinking water problems for going on 20 years, now, and we've never been able to clearly define a solution, stick with it and carry it through to completion.

The wastewater treatment plant simply heaps more troubles on the pile.

It's good to have public input, and gather all the facts needed to make a good decision. Tyranny is not a good thing in any level of government, especially on the city level.

But there comes a time when strong leadership has to take over and assemble the knowledge and political support needed to solve the problem.

We're still waiting for the right leadership to emerge.

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It's clearly not a great time to be on the City Council, but the school board isn't that choice a spot, either.

Passing a school bond has been a tough proposition, and the latest water-related news won't make it any easier.

Our purely unscientific online mccookgazette.com poll shows the $5.8 million bond issue trailing 34 to 38.8 percent, 4.9 percent undecided and 22.4 percent who can't vote. Online readers can vote once a day, so who's to say how many times each person's vote has been counted.

But the bond issue will be a tough sell, and that's a shame. To me, the latest proposal shows that school officials have been paying attention to the public as well as the needs of teachers and students.

The current plan seems the most "passable" of the recent three attempts, and deserves to be approved, I think.

But given the current drought and economic conditions, organizers have their work cut out for them.